this morning, ready for a rematch. >> the stakes seem even higher tonight. the second presidential debate, now, just hours away. the race, now neck and neck. but could the campaign be upended again, as the white house prepares for a possible military strike on al qaeda targets? it's all retaliation for the consulate attack in libya. but could it happen before election day? the young girl's courage. the teenage trail blazer from pakistan shot for speaking out. getting new treatment this morning, as a remarkable interview with her surfaces again. war on cheetos. why schools are banning a person flavor of the snack food. the latest battle of the obesity

battle. and the close call that begs the question, what in the world was this guy thinking? good morning, everyone. we begin this tuesday with the road to the white house running through long island, new york, tonight. that's where president obama and mitt romney face off in the second of their three debates. >> and one question a lot of folks are asking, will the president bounce back from his lackluster showing in denver earlier this month? the debate comes exactly three weeks before election day. and abc's t.j. winick is here with a preview. >> reporter: tonight's debate will be a town hall, which means audience members will be asking the questions, preselected by the moderator. the format presents inherent challenges for both president obama and mitt romney. >> both candidates have to tread lightly because if they are going on the offense too aggressively with each other,

that can spill over to the audience and make them look too combative. >> reporter: the president was widely chris sized after his first debate. his campaign says he has made adjustments. >> i think he's going to be aggressive in making his case for where we should go as a country. >> reporter: mitt romney's debate prep partner, senator rob portman, is optimistic. >> how did it go, senator? >> great. >> it's a different experience when you have citizens asking you questions rather than professional journalists. >> reporter: there was the 2008 debate, where senator john mccain wandered aimlessly around the stage. or in 2000, when al gore walked up to george bush, or in when the first president bush, checked his watch. >> the debate gets under way at

9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. while some voters might be waiting until tonight's debates to make up her mind, here's someone who has already decided. michelle obama put her absentee ballot in at illinois. and urged supporters to vote early. president obama will vote in person, in chicago on october 25th. the growing political storm over security in libya is almost certain to come up in tonight's debate. overnight, secretary of state hillary clinton says she takes full responsibility for any security lapses that led to the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate. however, republican lawmakers say the safety of americans working overseas rests squarely with the demander in chief. they are preparing for a possible strike, moving drones

into the area. putting special opes forces on stand-by. the pakistani girl who was targeted by the taliban is getting treatment at a hospital in england. officials are talking optimistically on what will admittedly be a very long recovery. nick schifrin reports from birmingham. >> reporter: she was nearly killed for simply wanting to go to school. malala has began a long road to recovery. her doctors removed her ventilator and she responded to stimuli. >> her doctors believe she has a chance of making a good recovery. >> reporter: 17 specialists will examine her in 24 hours. they have to recorrect her entire skull, shattered by a taliban bullet. this hospital provides better care than what she can receive in pakistan. and it is also safer. as long as she was in pakistan,

the taliban promise to try to kill her. when the taliban took over her neighborhood and blew up girls' schools, she fought back and became a potent symbol of resistance. >> you must -- >> reporter: and now, malala will fight back again. her supporters vow she will heal, she'll return home. and she'll go back to school. nick schifrin, abc news, birmingham. >> extraordinary story. in other news this morning, today is day two of pretrial hearings for self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind sharid shake mohammed and four other drafts. this time, the proceedings went smoothly, unlike the chaotic arraignment five months ago. families are watching from several military bases. and this father followed every step from a base in brooklyn.

>> my wife and i lost our son, keith, who was a paramedic. it's important for us to be here to continue his legacy, if you want. or his memory. we're his voice. >> the defendants might not be in the courtroom today. yesterday, the judge ruled they had the right not to attend the rest of this week's hearing. former democratic presidential nominee, george mcgovern, has entered hospice care. and his daughter says he is coming to the end of his life. the senator who is now 90, lost to richard nixon in a landslide in 1972. he served in the senate since 1981 and has fought to end world hunger. a stunningly close call to show you here this morning. thanks to some american youngsters. they're riding a train. and the young woman is encouraged to stick her head, right there, out of the window. luckily, she ducks back inside,

just before -- just a second before being hit by that train that was coming from the opposite direction. don't try that one on your next train trip. look at that. >> just don't hang your head out the window, period. >> that could have been beyond bad. >> close your eyes and go to sleep on the train. time, now, for the weather across the nation. a rainy day in the northwest, around seattle, portland, billings and jackson, wyoming. scattered showers from grand rapids to chicago. much warmer than normal in the nation's midsection. >> kansas city and omaha hover near 80 degrees. 60s in the northwest and east. 80s in new orleans. 85 in sacramento. coming up, the google exec who is saying yahoo! a $60 million incentive to switch companies. >> not a bad career. and a lot of people getting

fired up over flaming hot cheetos. and later, a very close call for this guy, who was showing off with a crocodile and almost became the meal. off with a crocodile and almost became the meal. >> brilliant. ounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning you can feel. introducing the all-new cadillac xts.

welcome back, everybody. shoppers are returning to the stores and they're spending. retail sales last month were up 1.1% because consumers simply are more confident. merchants saw gains in almost every major category from eating out to smartphones. it is the third-straight monthly increase in retail sales. >> why did you point to me when you mentioned eating out? >> you like food. well, it is no wonder that major retailers are optimistic about the upcoming holiday

shopping season. amazon, the latest to announce it's adding lots of workers to handle holiday sales. 50,000 for its order fulfillment centers across the u.s. it expects many of them to stay on full-time after the holidays, as well. and returning veterans will find it easier to find manufacturing jobs. top companies are starting a program to help veterans get the training that they need. employers have complained they cannot find enough qualified applicants. the program initially will be offered in ten cities for about 100,000 vets and their spouses. yahoo! is hiring and spending almost $60 million for its new chief operating officer. staggering number there. that's the value of the compensation package that rured enrique decastro away from google. he will be working for another exgoogle executive, that is

marissa mayer. the no-frilled tata nano is made by an indian conglomerate. the company plans to add grills and safety features for the u.s. market. it will debut here for less than 10 grand. the tata group owns two expensive grands, jaguar and land rover. >> i like the tata. nutrition advocates have a new target, although it's been around for about 20 years, actually. flameing hot cheetos. nutritionists say they're adistrictive. and some school districts have banned the snack. we had some earlier tonight. they are delicious. but are unhealthy. >> yes. and all of the preservatives in them. and they say no transfats. when we come back, new warnings in the meningitis

outbreak. why the risk could now involve other infections. and later, an epic monday night meltdown for the san diego chargers as peyton manning pulls off one of the greatest comebacks in nfl history. [ male announcer ] in a world where breakfast has become boring and tasteless... only one man can save the day. ♪ ♪ he's nutty! ♪ he's crunchy! honey sweet flakes with nuts in every bite! ♪ he saves the day! ♪ in his tasty way! ♪ ♪ he is the crunchy nut! [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious! car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching, you'd have like, a ton of dollars. but how're they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um" or "no comment."

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well, it was a rough commute for four circus elephants on their way to work. the animals were a little shaken up but otherwise okay. they were loaded on to another trailer and arrived safely for a performance in louisiana. >> you don't see that too often. >> not at all. now, for a look at morning road conditions. hopefully you don't run into elephants on the highway. a wet commute from seattle to portland, into the rockies. slick highways into southern texas and the miami area. showers could dampen roads around the great lakes, from grand rapids to chicago.

>> if you're flying today, airport delays are expected in cities on the board. seattle and salt lake city. the release of 21 names, all of them alleged clients in the so-called zumba prostitution case. >> talk about talk of the town. those names are said to be clients of fitness instructor, alexis wright, who is accused of running a sex for money operation, out of her studio in kennebunk, maine. her attorney and realtor are on the list, along with husbands and dads out there. many of the alleged johns believe to live in portland, maine, about 50 miles from kennebunk. a new warning about tainted drugs from a massachusetts pharma pharmacy. other drugs may cause life-threatening illnesses. the new warning involves a second steroid used for heart

and eye emergency. 15 people have died from meningitis linked to that farm is a. two hikers who vanished at montana's glacier national park were found alived and uninjured yesterday afternoon app a three-day search. the men are veterinarians from virginia and said to be experienced hikers. their wives reported them missing friday, after they failed to catch their flight home. but a much more tragic ending in miami, where a fourth body has now been found in the rubble of that collapsed parking garage. officials say the man's body is buried so deeply, it may take a few days to recover. the victim is believed to be a 53-year-old electrician. three other workers died in that collapse last week. we have heard that drinking cranberry juice can ward off bladder infections. but a new study says that is not the case. any benefit was small. and only in women, whose

infection could keep coming back. she would have to drink two glasses a day for a long period of time. >> this is an old wive's tale. sports news this morning. the nhl and its players return to the table today, all in an effort to end the ongoing lockout. this comes after the players missed the first regular season paycheck. the first two weeks of the season have been nixed. the tigers are up on the yanks 2-0 games. as for the nlcs and the stun nig comeback on "monday night football." >> i'm dog kezirian. chris carpenter against the giants. st. louis, 14-3 in carpenter's 16 postseason starts.

bottom first, angel pagan. solo shot. gets things started for san fran. it's 1-0. top second. man on first for carpenter. three hits this postseason. bottom four. bases loaded. two outs for marco scutaro. base hit. matt holliday misplays it. all three runs come around to score. giants have the 5-1 lead. same score in the eighth. bases loaded for ryan theriot. two runs score. giants win, 7-1. and even up the nlcs. down south in san diego, "monday night football." peyton manning and the broncos visiting the chargers. denver trailed 24-0 at the break. second half, the comeback is on. fourth quarter, denver going to the end zone.

nine minutes to go. manning, great grab, brandon stokely. broncos are rallying. san diego held scoreless in the second half. no more. five turnovers in the second half for rivers. broncos rally and tie things up for first place in the afc west. broncos and chargers, both 3-3. enjoy the rest of your day. >> manning does it again. after his night, he might be ready to part ways with the late show. band leader paul shaffer is clarifying his comments. >> he said someday when it was all over, he would like to take a nap. shaffer who is 62, says he will be on the show for as lg as letterman wants him on it. >> and making $5 million a year. >> not a bad gig. hang around, paul. up next, "the pulse." one of hollywood's biggest award

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across a piece of video showing a person doing something so dumb, so stupid, that we just have to show it to you. and what do you know? here's today's video. a guy clearly a mensa member, feeding a massive crack dial from close range. >> so dumb, so stupid, we should clarify, don't try this at home. he sinks into the mud, before getting back up. eventually, the crack dial gets its food. the guy walks away unharmed. we will consider him extremely lucky and also extremely unintelligent. >> no words for that. and finally, the quad ski. check this thing out. its maker calls it the high-speed amphibious vaehicle. >> you can get it in the water. and the squad ski is get up to 45 miles per hour in the water.

>> it's going to cost you about $40,000. when you're on it, stay away $40,000. when you're on it, stay away from the gators. kes 50% more ca. but, i have an idea. do you want a princess dress? yes how about some cupcakes? yes lollipop? yes! do you want an etch a sketch? yes! do you want 50% more cash? no you got talent. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. with a 50% annual cash bonus it's the card for people who like more cash. what's in your wallet? i usually say that. what's in your wallet? you can't argue with nutrition you can see. great grains. great grains cereal starts whole and stays whole. see the seam? more processed flakes look nothing like natural grains. i'm eating what i know is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself. it just wouldn't go away. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves.

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updating the top stories. president obama and mitt romney meeting in the second of their three debates tonight. audience members will get to ask questions in the 90-minute event. secretary of state hillary clinton says she is responsible for any security lapses that led to that deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. republican lawmakers counter saying the buck actually stops with the commander in chief. and the pakistani girl who was targeted after speaking out against the taliban is listed in stable condition this morning at a hospital in england. her recovery is to take months. quick look at waet. a passing shower in northern new england and south florida. showers around the great lakes. thunderstorms in southern texas. and a wet day in the northwest. finally this tuesday morning, smoldering, spicy, and hotter than curry, what judges

saw last night on "dancing with the stars." glad i clarified there. >> glad you did. and the all-stars pulled it through injuries and illness. and cost tomb crackups. more from george pennacchio. >> reporter: gilles marini and petra murgatroyd earned the first tens of the season. all on an empty stomach. >> i need to eat. this body has no food. for like 24 hours. i'm old. >> reporter: sean johnson and derek tied for first with a mesmerizining mambo. >> this shoe heel's broke. >> she danced the mambo like that. >> reporter: with a broken heel? >> yes. >> reporter: kelly monaco danced with a broken toe and the flu. but she and partner val

chmerkovskiy came in third. behind them in fourth, melissa rycroft and tony dovolani. >> it's shocking to be in the middle of the pack. >> the race is not over. it's for the one enduring to the end. it means that we're still in the hunt. >> i love being out there on that floor. i've got an incredible partner to dance with. he's pushing my limits. we're pushing each other. >> i had a wardrobe malfunction. my pants ripped in the back. all weird stuff happened. >> reporter: they landed in seventh place. bristol palin and mark ballas are next, with kirstie alley and max chmerkovskiy at the bottom. >> reporter: it's a tense tuesday before the fifth couple comes home. we will get musical rt